Apparatus for twisting barbed wire



Feb. 20, 1962 w. H. JOHNS ETAL APPARATUS FOR TWISTING BARBED WIRE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 2, 1959 INVENTORS W/LL MM H. JOHNS and ALBERT L. .STOECKEL y 19% Attorney Feb. 20, 1962 w. H. JOHNS ETAL APPARATUS FOR TWISTING BARBED WIRE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2, 1959 m rml INVENTORS WILLIAM H. JOHNS and ALBERT L. srosc/ra Emu/ax? 191% 1962 w. H. JOHNS ETAI. "3,0 ,87

APPARATUS FOR TWISTING BARBED WIRE Filed Jan. 2, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l/Vl/E/V TORS W/LL/AM H. JOHNS and ALBERT L. STOEC/(EL Attorney United States aten 3,021,872 APPARATUS FOR TWISTING BARBED WIRE William H. Johns, Highland Heights, and Albert L. Stoeckel, Euclid, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 784,627

1 Claim. (Cl. 140-60) 1 This invention relates to apparatus for making barbed wire and, in particular, to a machine for twisting two parallel strand wires together after the application of barbs thereto at spaced points.

An attempt has been made to fabricate two-strand barbed wire from wire of smaller gage but higher strength than the wire conventionally used for the purpose. It has been found that such product, because of the high tensile strength and springiness of the wire, is excessively stiif and lively. In fact, because of the inherent tendency to untwist, the product is so difiicult to handle as to make it impractical for use as fencing. It is accordingly the object of our invention to provide means for rendering barbed wire, the strands of which are of high tensile strength, relatively dead or free from objectionable springiness and tendency to untwist, thereby facilitating the manipulation necessary in stringing it.

In a preferred embodiment, we incorporate in a conventional barbed-wire machine, ahead of the usual twister or flyer, a rotary frame having an offset sheave or butterfly wheel journaled therein, efiective to impart a twist to the wire greater than that desired in the final product. We also drive the usual twister of the machine in the same direction as, but at a lower speed than, the rotary frame thereby partially relieving the overtwist originally imparted to the product, leaving it relatively dead and easy to handle.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description and explanation which refer to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of our apparatus;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are end views looking at the left and right ends, respectively; and

FIGURE 4 is a plan view with portions in section along the plane of line lV--IV of FIGURE 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, one end of a conventional barbed-wire machine is shown at 10, including a frame 11 and a twister or flyer 12 journaled horizontally therein. This machine may be of the general type of that shown in Bates Patent No. 365,723. It includes a drag-out sheave or butterfly wheel 13 driven at constant speed and an oscillating sheave 14 which permits uniform-speed feeding by wheel 13 although the poriton of the wires in machine must be arrested periodically for the attachment of barbs.

The apparatus of our invention is the preliminary twister indicated generally at 15 which receives the parallel strand wires W from machine 10, with barbs attached, and twists them together before passing them on to the conventional twister or flyer 12, for relief untwisting and winding on a reel (not shown) carried thereby.

Twister 15 comprises a base 16 having bearing stand ards 17 and 18 spaced apart thereon. A similar standard 19 is spaced beyond standard 18 and is offset laterally therefrom. A post 21 upstanding on base 16 supports an overhead guide sheave or butterfly wheel 22. An oscillatable post 23 pivoted at its lower end has an entry guide sheave 24 similar to that shown at 22, journaled thereon. The upper end of post 23 is yieldably positioned by a horizontal thrust rod 25 having a spring connection 27 to frame 10.

Hollow journals 28 and 29 are rotatable in bearings 30 and 31 carried on standards 17 and 18. Blocks 32 secured to the journals have spaced plates 33 secured thereto, constituting a rotary frame. Butterfly wheels 34, 35 and 36 are journaled between the plates, wheel 35 being offset from the other two as shown in FIG- URE 1. A counterweight 37 opposite wheel 35 balances the weight of the three wheels. Wires W travel as indicated over sheaves 22 and 24, axially through journal 28 and its block 32, inwardly around sheave 34, outwardly around sheave 35, inwardly around sheave 36, axially through block 32 secured to journal 29 through the latter and thence to flyer 12. Flyer 12, of course, is driven by any suitable means.

A shaft 38 is journaled in bearings 39 and 40 carried by standards 17 and 19. The shaft is parallel to the axis of bearings 28 and 29 but offset laterally therefrom. A

pipe length 41 enclosing shaft 38 extends between standards 17 and 19. Shaft 38 is driven by flyer 12 through a chain-and-sprocket drive 4-2., Similarly, the rotary frame constituted by plates 33, blocks 32 and journals 28 and 29 is driven by shaft 38 through a chain-andsprocket drive 43, the driven sprocket of which is secured to journal 28.

The size of the driving sprocket of the drives 42 and 43 relative to that of the driven sprocket is such that shaft 38 is driven faster than flyer 12 and frame 33 faster than shaft 38. Frame 33, however, turns in the same direction as the flyer 12. The result is that the two strand wires with barbs attached, on traversing the sheaves 34, 35 and 36, are twisted together by rotation of the frame 33. The twist is carried beyond the point that would ordinarily be imparted in making barbed wire on conventional machines. Thereafter, the over-twisted wire enters flyer 12 and is coiled on a reel carried thereby as shown in Bates Patent No. 365,723. The rotation of the flyer, because of its lower speed, effects a partial untwisting of the strands (the amount of untwisting being equal to the difference between the speeds of flyer 12 and twister 15), leaving the final product less stilt and unmanageable than it woud be if made on the patentees machine using strand wires of high tensile strength. In fact, such product compares favorably with ordinary wire for lack of excessive liveliness.

Thus the invention provides simple, inexpensive yet effective means for avoiding the undesired character istic which would result from making barbed-wire of high-strength steel on conventional machines.-

Although We have disclosed herein the preferred embodiment of our invention, we intend to cover as well any change or modification therein which may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

In a barbed-wire machine including a rotating twister, the combination therewith of a preliminary twister comprising a rotary frame axially alined with said firstmentioned twister, said frame having three sheaves journaled therein, the middle one offset from the other two, said other two being adjacent the axis of rotation of-said frame, said frame having hollow journals at its ends,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Reed May 30, 1933 Angell Feb. 12, 1935 Thiemer June 4, 1940 Furness Sept. 23, 1947 Klein Jan. 15, 1957 ant-.11.... 

